NYM resident has expansive Halloween display

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

As Halloween festivities arise in New York Mills this coming week, don’t miss the display at 406 Gilman Street East as Jennifer Windel’s home in NY Mills is complete with over 1,000 pieces of Halloween decor to spook, shock and scare you on your trick-or-treat route this year.  ¶  Windels, who started her decorating tradition in about 2005 or 2006, said that the annual Halloween showcase has expanded exponentially and this year, has creeped into the further reaches of her yard.  ¶  “I started on a very small scale shortly after I moved here,” said Windels. “It was a little 10 by 10 area with a few lights. My brother Randy used to do haunted hayrides on his farm out in the country, so some of the pieces, that’s how I got started. So some of the headstones and the Pharaoh in the back. A lot of those were pieces that he had and gave me when I moved here and started doing it.”

Windels said that the process of setting up the entire display takes about a month, having started in late September to have it all ready by October 31. She mentioned that there are a lot of pieces that cannot stay out in the weather, so pieces get brought back and forth to get the layout all ready for guests.

“Dismantling is a lot quick than putting up,” she laughed. “Dismantling usually takes the first weekend and everything is down and by the next weekend everything is stored. Randy asked if I wanted things, I said sure, so I blame him,” she laughed. “He has since passed away, so I think he’d get a kick out of it. A friend this year had a bunch of stuff she was getting rid of, so she donated some too.”

“This year, this whole section is new,” she said, pointing at a section of decorations ranging from skulls and tombstones to pumpkins and a pirate. “I’d easily say we have 1,000 plus pieces if you count everything—skulls, bones, lanterns, pumpkins.”

Not only does Windels share the excitement for everything Halloween with her late brother Randy, but also with her niece, Julie Cole and husband Mike Cole.

“If you can make a kid cry or run screaming down the driveway…” laughed Mike.

“I like seeing the kids when they’re excited,” said Windels. “Last year, we added a couple new things and it was interesting to me how many kids that said, ‘oh, this is new this year, you didn’t have this last year.’ There were quite a few adults and kids that said that.”

Windels said the three of them think about the showcase throughout the year, always with an eye out for the next perfect addition to the collection.

“Things pop up year round,” said Windels. “The carport idea was just a fluke because there was an acquaintance that I worked with that was giving it away for free because it took off rolling on him and bent up, so it was free.”

“All the new stuff that’s coming out,” agreed Julie. “Every year we say, ‘we’re not going to go overboard this year.”

“The trips to the store to buy the new stuff is always fun,” agreed Mike.

“We keep saying next year we’re not buying anything,” laughed Windels. “Then less than five minutes later, unless there’s a whole scene that we can get, the new can set up little scenes. They got sucked in the past few years, so they’ve been contributing too.”

The three enthusiasts enjoy the journey every year, from watching, buying, setting up and hearing the shrieks and even dismantling all brings something new to the tradition each season.

As Halloween gets closer, the public is invited to make a trip east on Gilman Street to see the decorations and to actually stop in on Halloween for the full experience.